


Dara

by Silent_journey



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2019-09-05 21:07:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16818478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silent_journey/pseuds/Silent_journey
Summary: “No. My name is Darcy. Dar-cee.”A fond smile. “No, my child. The name I gave you is Dara.”





	1. Chapter 1

“I need your help.”

Sif kept her back to the raven-haired prince, continuing to sharpen her sword. She knew his games and she refused to be drawn into this one. The All-Father had been in a fine state lately. She had no doubt it was due to the man behind her.

“Sif.” 

There was something in his voice. A note she had never heard there before. It almost sounded like…

“Please.”

Begging. 

The motions of her hands stilled. “What is it that you need? Speak the truth to me Loki. I have no time for your lies.”

A heavy breath drawn in, yet the words were still unsteady when they came. “I have done something Odin will never forgive.”

Finally she turned. It was like looking at a poor simulacrum. His usually fair skin was nearly bloodless. His eyes, only shining because of tightly leashed tears, stood out starkly from the dark bruises beneath them.

Still, she was uncertain. “Thor would never allow-”

A sharp motion of his hand cut her off. “Thor cannot save me. There are ways-” he hesitated. Now there was fear. True fear in his face. “I cannot say why, but believe me when I say that Thor will not be able to help me with this. Even though he is half to blame. He will not even-He will… There are reasons that everyone has forgotten that Frigga bore another child. Even the Queen herself holds no memories of it.”

Sif felt heavy cold weight fill her gut. The implications… It could not be. “You speak no sense, Loki.”

“Believe me or not, but Thor will not help me. You are the only one I can turn to in this. Partially because you are the last person Odin would ever think would help me. Partially because you are a woman and you will understand my plight.”

“And what plight is this exactly?”

Loki said nothing, but his left hand covered his stomach protectively. Nothing more needed to be done. Sif understood. She understood the desperation. The hunched shoulders of the usually arrogant prince. The fear and uncertainty. 

This would not stand.

Sheathing the sword she still held, she rose to her feet. Holding out her hand, she gave Loki a nod. 

He met her offer with his right, left hand still carefully cradling his stomach. The obvious relief at her acceptance caused the dam to give way enough for a single tear to slide down the young mother’s cheek.

“Come,” SIf commanded. “We go now.”

###

6 months later…

The house was spacious. Nearly a palace on this primitive world. It stood on the edge of a cliff looking out over the expanse of the ocean. Loki had watched the sun go down over the water, seeing the light turn the waves to amber. 

It was a beautiful place.

The best place he could find for the tiny bundle in his arms. 

He had been hiding on this world for the last few months. Alone. At least until earlier today. 

Now he was not alone. But he would have to leave.

They were shrouded in the mists of illusion. No one could see them. Least of all the drunken man behind him.

For the all the faults the world would pin on the stranger behind him, Loki knew his heart. He had observed for weeks. Seen the potential this man had. 

He had come to the conclusion that there would be no better place for his daughter.

His daughter. 

His arms tighten fractionally on the sleeping infant he cradled. 

He knew what he had to do. He knew why. The reasons were irrefutable. Yet…

How could he do this thing? How would he live with the hole in his heart? 

He had been arrogant to believe that it would be easy, that he would be able to stride away without repercussions on his soul. 

From the moment he had hear her first cry he knew his mistake. 

She was precious. Fragile. 

She had no defense. Not against the powers that the All-Father could bring to bear. Not against the pain that would come for her if he brought her back to Asgard.

Still he was tempted.

More, he was tempted to remain. Stay here and stay hidden.

The risk was too great though. Odin was certainly looking for him. Eventually he would be found, and if she was at his side she would only be in danger.

The only way for her to grow up free was to leave her here. Here, in this castle, where she could be a princess in all but title. She would want for nothing.

Loki turned from the view and watched as the man finally collapsed into sleep. 

It was time to say goodbye.

His daughter slept on as he placed her in the crib he had brought. 

Trembling lips pressed to her tiny forehead. Soft words brushed over her little eyelids. Words of comfort. Words of love. Words of promise.

He drew back before the tears on his face could drip down on her, wanting nothing to disturb her rest.

Straightening, he lifted his face to the ceiling. Drawing his defenses back up. Trying to harden his resolve and his heart.

Turning away from the most precious gift he had ever been given, Loki took in the slumbering man. This would be his greatest lie.

He had studied the ways that Odin manipulated memory. He had learned a trick or two. Though he could not do the great-scale magic that Odin could, he could implant one false memory. Just one. One was enough.

The mind was a treacherous landscape. True memories would fade and grow hazy with time. The one he planted would never dull, and the man’s own mind would build around it. Anything that would seem out of place would shift, details changing to align with what Loki left.

His cool fingers felt like they were burning when they touched the stranger’s forehead. He built the details. A dark-haired woman on the doorstep. A baby left behind.

“You will love her,” he commanded though he knew it was not a true order. No one could control the heart. “You will protect her all her days and give her what I cannot. You will keep her secrets safe. Hear me, Stark. Know that she is yours now, but she will always be mine.”

He withdrew his hand. If he looked to the silent crib in the corner he would never leave, so he kept his eyes on the splayed form on the bed. 

“Names are powerful,” he told the unconscious man. “Names are self-fulfilling prophecies. They are guiding lights, protections. Yours means unyielding. It means strength.” He leaned down, so close his lips almost brushed Stark’s ears. “Her name is Dara.”

As he straightened, he let the shadows consume him. It was only fitting since he would never be able to truly feel the warmth of the light again.

His light was behind him, and he would forever be walking forward into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I almost made my deadline of Sunday at midnight. *Shrug* Two hours late ain't bad...

_Day 1_

A scream tore him from his sleep.

Tony flailed for a moment before tumbling off the bed and onto the floor.

For a moment, he couldn’t remember where he was or why there would be such a fierce cry so close by.

Then it all came rushing back…

A heavy night of partying. Returning home. A knock on the door. A dark-haired beauty with a bundle in her arms.

His head popped up over the side of the bed, wide eyes landing on the pop-up crib.

Scrambling to his feet, he raced over to where the infant was wailing. Where his daughter was wailing.

_Fuck._

He had been wasted, uncoordinated. Maybe a little in shock. Somehow he had let the woman leave the child. He couldn’t really remember the woman leaving. Couldn’t even remember the crib being assembled. It was a blank, like much of the last few years had been.

Less than a day as a father and he was already fucking it up.

 _Shit_.

Father. He was a father.

He had no idea what to do. An unusual state for the genius.

His daughter’s little face was turning red in fury. Swaddled as she was she couldn’t kick and thrash about, but he knew she would be had she not been confined.

His hands fumbled as he picked up the cordless phone from his bedside table. Hitting the first speed-dial, he waited for the call to connect.

“Yes, Mr. Stark,” she answered with a clear voice, though it was early enough to still be considered night on the other coast.

“I need you here. Now.”

“Mr. Stark, are you aware what time it is?”

“I don’t care,” he nearly shouted. The silence on the other end was telling. Drawing in a breath he tried again. “Please, Pepper. I have an emergency here.”

There was another loaded pause. Then… “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Twenty minutes. He was pretty sure he couldn’t do too much damage in twenty minutes.

“Okay, kid,” he said as he went back to her side. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we’re just going to have to be patient.” Unsure what to do, Tony fell back on his usual coping mechanism, fast talk. “Well we sure don’t have to get your lungs checked. Not sure about the rest of you. Your mother was obviously a little mentally deficient if she left you with me.” The last seemed to cause a fresh wave of fury. “Okay, okay. I get it. No talking about the other biological donor. Got it. I promise I won’t say the M-word again. I do need you to calm it down a bit though. You’re so red it’s starting to freak me out.”

Her tears shifted. Instead of anger they became saturated with sadness. At the sound, he had a startlingly clear vision of himself curled beneath his blankets the first night at boarding school trying to muffle his tears into the pillow.

He shoved the thought harshly back into its box.

For the first time in his life, Tony understood how a heart could break hearing a baby’s cry.

“Fuck,” he whispered, more to himself than anything.

He was an engineer. Steady hands, an iron will, and an unrivaled mind were his defining characteristics, but his hands felt unsure as he reached down for the small bundle. He knew the basics of biology. He knew the infant’s muscles weren’t strong enough to support her own head. The hundreds of horrific things that could go wrong circled through the back of his mind, but he didn’t let the worry stop him.

Not when she was crying like that.

“Okay, kid,” he comforted, as he slid his big hands beneath her. She seemed so tiny compared to his large palms. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. We’re gonna figure this out. You’re gonna have to take it easy on me though. Don’t tell anybody but I’m not totally confident here.” He brought her up against his chest. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re terrifying,” he asked her. “Cause I’m terrified.”

Her cries abruptly began to quiet.

Tony found himself rocking her gently as he continued to fill the air with his ramblings.

That was how Pepper found him when she finally arrived.

She took one look at the scene, drew in a fortifying breath, then came forward to his side. “Would you like me to take her, Mr. Stark?”

Reluctance welled up. “No. No, thank you. I’ve…I’ve got her.”

The smile that curved Pepper’s lips wasn’t one he had ever seen before. “Very well, Mr. Stark. Why don’t you tell me the story of how she got here and I’ll start getting things organized.”

“Yeah,” he responded absently, gaze taken up with the child in his arms. “Yeah let’s do that.”

###

_Day 3_

Pepper was amazing. Tony was fairly certain that he owed her at least three pairs of those expensive shoes she liked. Maybe a car too.

However, she was starting to irritate him.

“We need to get the DNA test for the courts. We have no paperwork for her, Mr. Stark. It has to be done.”

“No.” It was the same answer he had been giving for the last half hour. He realized he was stubborn bastard, but that wasn’t about to change.

He was scared. Scared that she wasn’t his.

Which was a huge turn around in attitude. He was self-aware enough to recognize that. Still…he refused to let her go back with a woman who would abandon her. Even if she wasn’t his, she had won his heart. No one was going to take her from him. In the last two days he had developed a protective streak he didn’t even know he had been capable off.

Tony stood abruptly from where he had been lounging on the couch.

“She’s mine. No question.” He realized his voice had been a little harsh when Pepper’s mouth pulled down in a frown. Closing his eyes against, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just…Just watch her for a little bit. I know we’ve got the nanny here, but I don’t trust her yet. I’ll take care of the rest.”

He waited to hear her “Yes, Mr. Stark” and the receding sound of her heels, before he opened his eyes.

Pepper wanted to do this legally. Tony wasn’t so sure that legal equalled right.

He went down to his workshop, the first time in the last three days. And wasn’t that telling right there.

“Wake up, JARVIS. We’ve got work to do.”

It was funny. Only days ago, Tony would have called JARVIS an infant. Yet, now that he had held his daughter in his arms, he knew JARVIS was far more than that. He could defend himself in the most rudimentary of ways. Ways in which Tony’s flesh and blood could not defend herself.

“How may I assist, Sir?”

“Start up a call to Obi.” As much as he was loathe to take his problems to someone else, he knew that Obi would be able to help. Obi had the kind of power that greased the right palms, opened the right doors. He would be able to ensure that things would fall the way that Tony wanted.

“Tony, my boy.” Obi’s voice reverberated around the space. “What’s going on?”

“I have to ask for a favor.”

There was a strange pause. Tony was used to Obi judging, but it was usually in a weary friend way. It was nothing like the harsh disappointment of his father, nor the ‘you-so-owe-me-a-raise’ like Pepper.

“What do you need,” the older man asked.

Tony felt his shoulders slump in relief. Now to explain. Probably best to tear the band-aid off all at once.

“I need a birth certificate. For my daughter.”

###

Day 5

Tony rubbed the grit from his eyes and lifted his head from the desk he had fallen asleep on. The last two days had given him a whole new appreciation for the insanity of parenthood. Seriously. It made him wonder why more parents weren’t checked into the psych ward.

He was plagued by worry. Run ragged by his own mind, and a creature that weighed less than his best bottle of scotch.

At the first thought of her, Tony’s head whipped around to the crib where he had put her down not long ago.

“She is still sleeping, Sir,” JARVIS informed him in soft tones.

Both hands ran through his already unkempt hair. “Thanks, J.” He hadn’t gotten any work done in days but still he found himself spending a lot of time in the workshop. Down here JARVIS could watch over her in ways that he trusted.

He rubbed at his eyes once more before trying to focus on the code in front of him. What few moments he had been able to snag for himself in the last few days he had been using to upgrade JARVIS’ systems. The plan was to have JARVIS monitoring the entire house, not just the lab. It would give them all a layer of protection.

And peace of mind for himself.

Getting his focus back on the task in front of him, Tony let himself get lost in the coding.

A big hand coming down on his shoulder sent him flailing.

“Whoa! Slow down, Tony.”

Looking up into Obi’s face, Tony tried to calm his heart rate.

“You seem a bit high-strung there, my boy.”

“Yeah, well.”

Obi laughed deeply before tossing a large envelope down on the desktop.

Tony’s eyes fastened on it intently. “Is that…”

Unbuttoning his suit jacket, Obi took a seat one of the armchairs Pepper had insisted on. “Have I ever not delivered before?”

Tony met his gaze, guilt stirring. “No! It’s not that. I just…”

There was silence for a moment as the two men took each other’s measure. Then Obi gave one of those indulgent smiles he often graced Tony with. “I understand. Big changes.” He reached into his pocket and drew out of his cigars. “I hope it won’t be too many changes. You know I can only keep the board off your back for so long.”

“I’m aware of the what the vultures expect. I have a backlog I’ve been sitting on. Or so JARVIS informs me. I don’t really remember designing most of them.”

Another one of those deep chuckles.

On his feet, Tony stretched his back before ambling over to where Obi was digging in his pocket for his cutter. “There will be some changes though,” Tony informed the older man as he plucked the cigar from between his fingers.

There was an eyeroll, before Obi leaned back sans cigar.

Tony went back to the desk. The envelope though innocuous, held something quite precious. Tearing open the end he carefully pulled out the documents. There was no doubt they would pass inspection.

“Just needs your signature…and a name.”

When Tony had first asked for the favor, he hadn’t known what name to give Obi. It had been a bit startling to realize that he wasn’t sure if the baby had a name – he had been calling her baby and sweetheart and little terror for days - and that even if she did Tony could change it. He had that right. She was his.

Picking up a pen, he scrawled his name in the appropriate box. The pen hesitated over the other empty space.

He had been thinking about her name a lot since his conversation with Obi. He had thought he might name her after his own mother. Yet it didn’t fit her somehow. She was so full of fire and energy, nothing like the cool and composed woman he remembered his mother to be.

Plus there had been the dreams….

“Dar-…Darcy. Her name is Darcy. Darcy Maria Stark.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So life keeps getting away from me..... But here is a belated gift for everyone to celebrate my birthday!! Thank you all for reading and hanging in there.

_ Day 94 _

Pepper had known Tony for years, but she had never seen him as manic as he had been these last few months. There had been multiple midnight calls, panic-laced voicemails left as she attended the meetings he was supposed to be in. There had been two separate interventions she’d staged (by calling Rhodey) when Tony had tried to become a expert in child development and psychology. Rhodey had been able to talk him down off that particular cliff. 

She had never seen him more scared...or more joyous.

The tears in his voice when he’d told her Darcy had smiled for the first time had caused her own eyes to mist. He had never smiled as wide as he did when Darcy had giggled at his antics. Tony had always treated his robots as his children but now anytime she stepped in the lab it was like walking into a single father's living room. Darcy's presence had changed Tony. In ways that Pepper saw only as good, even if the child had increased her workload.

The media and the board couldn't see these positive improvements in lab behavior and attitude. Not with the way Tony had secluded himself in the Malibu property. There were rumors of him in rehab, or shacked up with some starlet on a yacht in the Mediterranean.

At Tony’s order she had allowed the rumors to persist which left her fielding calls from the PR department on a near daily basis. However, she wasn’t about to break the peace he was currently experiencing. 

Tony might deny it but this was the most stable she had seen him. Ever. There were no drugs in the house or his system. No one had needed to be escorted from the property after a night of conquest.

As she stepped into the house on this Tuesday afternoon, she could hear singing. It was odd enough that it made her pause. The voice wasn’t the nanny. Nor any of the doctors, nurses, or child development specialists that she (and a small trusted portion of the legal team) had forced to sign iron-clad NDAs before joining Darcy’s care team.

Instead of calling out, Pepper slid off her heels by the door and walked softly toward the sound. The source seemed to be coming from the living room. Soft light filtered in from the tinted windows, highlighting the sweet scene on the couch. Tony was laid out on his back, eyes closed, singing an Italian lullaby. Laid on his chest, on her little belly, was Darcy. She had to be asleep, if she had been awake she would have had her head up watching her father. Even so young, she was fascinated by him.

Though Pepper didn’t know the language, she could understand the sentiment in the melody. 

This was a man in love.

The part of her mind that was always planning, always trying to anticipate, could already see how Darcy would lead Tony on a merry chase. He was wrapped around her finger and she hadn’t even taken her first steps yet.

If nothing else it was going to be fun to watch.

###

_ Day 237 _

“And this is Python by van Rossum. We like some of his stuff, but it could definitely use some improvements. We like him enough not to go snooping in his servers.”

Tony clicked to a new screen as he continued the lesson for his audience. 

“Now this is some very promising code by-”

There was an unhappy murmur from behind him. Turning, he gave the girl an inquisitive eyebrow lift. “You don’t agree?”

Darcy’s tiny eyebrow lifted in imitation of his own look. The sight instantly had Tony grinning, an expression he often wore where Darcy was concerned. 

“I guess I’ll have to take a second look.” 

At the moment, Darcy was enclosed in her little play pen area. The bots were hovering around the border but they were careful not to get too close. Colorful toys were scattered all around, but she gave them little notice. Her eyes were on Tony. Big beautiful green eyes, full of awareness and curiosity, the most notable trait she had received from her absent mother.

The pediatrician that Tony insisted check Darcy over on a weekly basis insisted that he was reading more intelligence there than a baby Darcy’s age was capable of, but Tony didn’t think so. Genius ran in the Stark genes. There was no reason to think that Darcy wouldn’t be just the same. 

With that in mind, Tony had started these little lessons whenever he was working a project that was safe to have a child around. So far that mostly amounted to coding and programming. 

Still Darcy was only a baby. There were times when she got fussy, times when her little eyes would struggle to stay open, times when she was more interested in the bots’ antics than him.

Today her focus had been almost solely on him. It gave him a little spark of… something. Something that felt like warmth, and pride, and love, and humility. He was so gone on her.

Stepping away from the screen he had been standing by, he climbed over the playpen wall and scooped up his daughter. She grinned and gave a happy gurgle, her tiny hands immediately going for his facial hair. She was fascinated by the way it felt and was constantly pushing or pulling at it.

“Before we do that though, let’s check that diaper of yours, sweetheart. Can’t revolutionize an industry or two with a soiled diaper.”

As if she understood the joke, Darcy giggled happily, her tiny nose scrunching. Pressing a kiss to her soft forehead, Tony headed for the nursery. 

###

_ Day 1094 _

Intellectually Tony knew that what he was doing was to protect his daughter. That didn’t mean that he had to like it.

Slouched petulantly in his seat on the jet, Tony was staring out the window at the German countryside. The plane would be landing shortly and Tony would have to pull himself together, put on his media face, and charm the clients. He couldn’t let there be patterns, couldn’t let anyone connect the dots. He had to play these games. Still...

“Tony.”

Ignoring his name, he slouched down another inch.

Pepper sighed heavily. “Tony, can we please-”

“It’s her birthday, Pepper! Her birthday,” he exclaimed. Eyes jerking to his assistant, body twitching in his anger. 

He would have continued in that vein, but the sympathy in Pepper’s eyes stalled him. “I know, Tony. And I’m sorry you have to be here for this, but you know it would raise all kinds of questions if you weren’t at the launch.”

As scoff filled the air between them. “Just tell them I’m holed up with a kilo of coke on the Bunny Ranch.”

“You know we can only push that lie so far before the board starts questioning your capabilities.”

Bounding to his feet, Tony paced the length of the cabin and back. “Obi can handle the board. Besides as long as I keep pumping out designs that the military can’t live without they don’t care what I do.” Stopping by the small bar, he reached for a bottle of bourbon only to draw his hand back. 

The siren song it sang was playing in his ear but he forced himself to ignore it. He hadn’t had a drink in almost three years. Tomorrow would be the third anniversary. Darcy’s birthday. 

Still every plane, every house, every party he held still came with fully stocked bars. There were appearances to keep up. 

The silence stretched until he turned away from the bottle and resumed his pacing. 

“She’s only turning three, Tony. She won’t really remember this birthday. She knows you have an important job. She understands.”

And that right there was the problem. Darcy did seem to understand. Tony had been positive that Darcy was going to register on the genius scale from very early on. He had been proven very right. 

Though her IQ hadn’t been formally tested, she understood concepts that should be far beyond her age. She had picked up Spanish from the housekeeper, Greek from the gardener, French from Pepper. Any language she heard imprinted on her easily. She spouted computer facts as easy as breathing. Even things Tony was fairly certain he had never told her about. Of course, JARVIS could be responsible for some of that. 

The AI was like an older brother in some ways. He was a protector, an assistant caregiver, a teacher. Best of all Darcy treated him like any other person. When Tony had asked what she thought about JARVIS not having a body, Darcy had laughed at him as if he was being extra silly. “He got a body, Daddy,” she had informed him confidently. Pointing downward, toward the sub-basement server room, Darcy had continued. “It’s not like me. It’s not like you. But, but it’s still good,” she had stated with finality. Conversation over she had wandered away, leaving Tony slightly dumb-founded. Especially since he was certain she had never seen a single server that housed JARVIS’ code.

Another heavy sigh from Pepper drew him back to the current situation: Less than 24 hours until Darcy’s birthday and him thousands of miles away.

Opening up the itinerary for the launch, Pepper started making notations. After a few moments, she met his gaze. “If you make an appearance early today, we could try to play it off that you ran off with some cute secretary or something. That way at least I can say you were here. As long as you are back on the jet by 8pm you should be able to be back in time.”

There was no dimming the smile that spread over his face. 

“You’re the best, Pep.”

The redhead was composed and straight-faced when she responded, “I know.”

###

_ Day 1769 _

“It’ll be okay, Daddy. I promise.” She was the picture of confidence in a pretty yellow sundress, frilly white socks, shiny black shoes, and tiny backpack straps over both shoulders. On the other side of this equation, Tony was a wreck. He thought he was putting up a good front, but obviously Darcy could see some part of his worry.

It was the first day of school.

They had been prepping for this for months, but Tony still wasn’t ready. 

“Just one more time, little terror,” he asked as he crouched before her. “Please.”

Hearing a smaller version of the sigh Pepper liked to give him made his lips twitch in a fond smile. “Okay, Daddy,” she acquiesced.

“That’s my girl. Now… What’s your name?”

“Darcy Maria Lewis.”

“Good girl. And who do you live with?”

“Mrs. Lew- I mean my mommy.”

“And what if someone asks about your daddy?”

“Daddy is an engineer but he doesn't live with us. He only comes to visit.”

“Perfect. Absolutely perfect sweetheart.” Tony pulled her in for a hug, hating that he was teaching his daughter to lie, but knowing that it was for the best. If no one knew who she was, no one could use her as leverage. There’d be no media dogging her footsteps. No spotlights to blind her. He was determined that she would get to have a real childhood. She wouldn’t be a media prop for SI or the Stark name.

Darcy would have the chance at real friends, real connections. She would never feel like an outsider looking through glass at a world she couldn’t understand. He was determined that she would have all of the benefits his money could get her, but he wouldn’t let the coldness it could bring touch her.

“Daddy.” She squirmed in his arms and he realized that he had been holding on too long.

“Right.” He pulled back and stood. “Okay.” From the corner of his eye he could see the nanny, Emilia Lewis, patiently waiting. Over the last few years, Tony had learned to trust her. Enough that he was having Darcy take on her name for this subterfuge. (There was a literal mountain of paperwork Emilia had been required to sign for this particular trick that created safeguards for them all.) Still she had shown an unending supply of patience over the last few months. Today would be one more demonstration of that patience as Tony dawdled.

Looking down at his baby, Tony felt a tightness in his chest. “You’re gonna do great, Darcy.”

Her answering smile was carefree. “I know, Daddy. I love you.”

“I love you too, little terror.”

She smile sunnily and gave a quick hug to his leg before skipping to Emilia and holding out her hand. 

Tony watched them from the open front door. He watched as Emilia strapped Darcy into her carseat, as the driver pulled away. He kept watching long after they were out of sight. His mind drifting over the choices he had made, not only for himself but for Darcy as well. 

The sound of heels on marble floors brought him out of his circling thoughts.

Pepper said nothing, but he could feel her waiting.

“Am I doing the right thing,” he asked, not for the first time. Her silence stretched long enough that he turned, only to find her smiling sympathetically.

As always, she gave him the same answer, something her mother had once told her. “Parents do the best they know how.”

He knew she meant it as comfort, but he couldn’t help but feel that he was flailing in the dark hoping to stumble over solutions. 

Regardless there were things to do. “Alright Miss Potts, what’s on the agenda for today?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments light up my little black heart! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know its short. But having it be part of the larger chapter made it feel chunky.

The purple sky was hazy from the incoming storm. The air was charged with tightly leashed power, but soon the fury of the skies would pour out.

Loki felt kindred with the skies above more than with those who sat around the fire with him. 

Thor and the Warriors Three were drinking, as was often the case. They had long gone passed relaxed and far into inebriated. In fact they were well into the level where no one would be stirring before evening tomorrow. 

He could tell by the way Thor started to go quiet. Usually he was loud, boisterous. The center of the feast. With enough mead in his gut though he began to quiet. Loki would call it thoughtful but he doubted there was much higher thought happening. No the quiet was simply a sign that Thor would soon be tipping over and losing consciousness. 

Sif, like Loki, had been nursing a single tankard the whole night. He had felt her eyes on him most of the evening, though he hadn’t caught her staring. There was a heavy feeling in the air, beside the storm. A feeling of waiting, expectant, though he wasn’t sure what for. 

Finally, the singing trailed off as Volstagg slumped against one of the columns of their shelter. All the others had preceded him. Thor had slid easily into dreams moments before.

The only noises were from the crackling of the wood, and the wind through the pillars of their shelter. He would not break it. If Sif wanted something she would have to make the first move.

Since that day all those years ago, when Sif had helped him run, they had played a careful game. Nothing was ever spoken about what had happened while he was gone. She never asked about the child he had abandoned. They never acted as friends. At most they were cordial enemies, to the outside world. 

Tonight felt different.

“We are far from the halls of Asgard,” Sif finally offered. 

“But never far from the All-Father’s eye,” he gave in reply.

Though Sif looked away, Loki knew she the conversation was not finished. Sif was direct in a way that often unsettled her possible suitors. Draining the last of her drink she set it aside. “Will you answer me one question?”

Loki had perfected a hundred styles of smiles over the years, each one as false as the last. Yet he gave Sif the closest one he had to truth. It was a sad pathetic little thing, brightened only by the gratitude in his eyes. “We owe you more than a single answer… But, yes. I will answer your question.”

Understanding the gravity in what he said, Sif nodded. “Are you content?” Her direct gaze bore into him, looking for truth.

“No.” It was a simple word. Sharp and cold. The chill of his tone seemed to infect the air between them, until Sif gave a shiver despite the warmth of the fire. 

Relenting Loki let his eyes drift away, out beyond the roof of this place, to where the stars could be seen. “I will never be content, but what was done is done. Even Odin cannot undo it.”

Silence was the only thing to greet him.

The fire burned low before Loki glanced over at Sif again. He had heard her shift positions during his contemplation of the stars. When he looked, he found her stretched out on the couch her eyes firmly closed. 

Loki knew it was unfair but he couldn’t let down the walls he had erected after leaving behind his child. Those walls were the only thing protecting his heart. Though Sif was honorable, he could not risk any vulnerabilities in his defenses. 

Sif had been right though, they were far from Asgard’s halls. Perhaps far enough from Odin’s eye to take his own peek at what he had left behind. Only a peek into a world of warmth. A glimpse through a window he could never open. 

It was fine. 

He was acclimating to the cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up Darcy's POV...


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!  
>  This got a bit more angsty than originally planned. There is mentions of addition, bad parenting, semi-abandonment.
> 
> I promise it will be happier later!!!

_ Day 3972 _

“I’m not going!” The statement was punctuated with the slam of a door.

Tony sighed to himself, but didn’t attempt to go after Darcy. The anger she had was understandable, justifiable even. It was a part of the grieving process. Lord knew, Tony had gone through the same thing himself after his parents death. 

He had hoped that Darcy wouldn’t have to deal with death so young, but there was no helping it. Emilia Lewis, Darcy’s primary nanny and an anchor point in her life for the last 10 years, had been out shopping when some nosey reporter had tried to corner her. Over the years, the paps had put together that Emilia worked for him. They had seen her coming and going often enough and at odd enough hours that they had made the assumption that she was in charge of the household. Tony’s number two beside Pepper. 

In her effort to avoid the over eager man, Emilia had stepped into the crosswalk without looking. The city work van hadn’t been able to stop in time. 

Emilia had been declared dead on the scene. 

For two months, the whole household had felt Emilia’s absence keenly. Even JARVIS had remarked. However, there hadn’t been any outbursts from Darcy until talk about boarding school had begun.

Tony was sure that Darcy saw this as a punishment, or as being abandoned. Which couldn’t be further from the truth. The move was to protect her. To distance her from his tarnished name, to keep her away from those who would use her. It was only paranoia if they weren’t really out to get you.

Without Emilia, Darcy needed someone stable to meet her everyday needs, and as much as Pepper loved her, Pepper had her hands full with Tony himself. Tony knew he was right out. Hell he still struggled to feed himself three meals a day. Not to mention the specter of addiction that always seemed to be hovering over his shoulder.

Darcy’s intelligence would let her see this was the best option. At some point. For now, she might hate him, but in the long run she would be a better, happier person from this. They both would have to wade through the tantrums until then. 

###

_ Day 4745 _

The computer code marched across the screen like ants on meth. At least, at a speed Darcy imagined ants on meth would move. Her fingers were moving at a similar speed as she typed out line after line. 

Three years at boarding school had taught her quite a few life lessons. One was that the best way to earn respect is to have something no one else did. For Darcy, that something wasn’t money or status, though that was mostly because no one knew who she really was. No, the something Darcy had found was her ability with computers. With a few simple lines of coding she could take control of so many things. The fire alarms, the teacher’s emails, the grades of every student. She could get copies of any music in circulation, information about any subject, and every article ever published about her father. 

Her abilities had made her rather infamous in the underground student network at school. The administration had no idea, of course. By keeping her talents carefully hidden, they weren’t even aware she was someone to be watched.

Hiding her nature hadn’t been on purpose at first. It was simply habit.  _ Don’t tell them your real name. Don’t tell them who your father is. Don’t do anything to stand out. _

She still had friends. Well… She had acquaintances and roommates. She had clients and interested parties. She had frienemies, and enemies, and rivals. She was a businesswoman like her father, and she finding it a bit isolating.

Her fingers paused above the keyboard, her eyes glancing around her dorm room, taking in the band posters and unmade bed and overflowing dirty hamper and haphazardly filled bookshelf. There were no pictures, of family or otherwise. No funny notes with inside jokes. Not like the other kids’ rooms. She had always felt above such things, but...

Maybe she was lonely.

Maybe that’s way she had felt such a frantic urge to write this particular code.

The clack of keys picked up again. This wasn’t going to be JARVIS. This would be something less, and something more. She didn’t need a keeper like her dad did. She didn’t even really need an assistant. 

She needed a companion. 

A knock at the door broke her concentration some time later. The long streaks of light from the window said she had been at it for several hours. Morning had come faster than she expected.

Closing down the program she was using she stood and stretched before going to answer the door. Yanking it open she had a defensive quip on the tip of her tongue, but it quickly deflated when she saw Happy’s smiling face.

“Hello, Miss. Happy birthday.”

Stunned Darcy felt tears gathering in her eyes. It wasn’t that she thought she had been forgotten, it was just… Well it might have been a little bit of that. There hadn’t been the customary call for scheduling for Pepper. Or the pre-birthday teasing from Dad.

“Your carriage awaits,” Happy continued when Darcy failed to respond. 

“But-”

“Everything’s been handled. Your teachers know you’ll be out for the next few days, your father’s had his schedule cleared, and you’re both heading to an undisclosed location where no one will recognize you.”

The noise that left her throat was definitely a squeal as she threw her arms around Happy’s neck. His big hands were warm on her back and made her feel safe. She had missed him more than she had realized. 

After a few more minutes, he gently set her away from him and instructed her to pack her bags.

Darcy followed the direction with an enthusiasm that carried her through the next week. It wasn’t until she packing her bags to return to school that she gave another thought to the coding she had been working on. 

###   
  


_ Day 5475 _

_ Thirteen must be a lonely number,  _ Darcy thought as she leaned on the railing of the balcony overlooking the Pacific. The thought made sense. Thirteen was called unlucky and perhaps for the rest of the world that held true, but for Darcy thirteen was precious. Thirteen had been the last uncomplicatedly happy birthday she’d had with her father. 

Last year had started all right, but by the first evening home she had started to notice the signs that something wasn’t quite right. The trip had ended with yelling and slammed doors on both sides. The year between then and now had been marked by tension.

Darcy knew she was stubborn. She considered it one of her best qualities. _ Too bad Dad is just as bad.  _ Neither of them had been willing to back down. Neither willing to offer apologies. 

Christmas break had been awkward as hell.

From increasingly terrible tabloid headings she knew that things were getting worse. Pepper tried to sugarcoat his antics as best she could when they talked, but Darcy knew how to read between the lines. The drugs, and the girls, and the booze were killing the father she knew and loved. No one was really sure what had set him off. Pepper said it had been like a slow moving avalanche rather than an explosion. Bottles of expensive liquor that emptied in days rather than weeks. Nights spent out that got later and later until they rolled into the next day. 

Still, Darcy had hoped that this day would bring him home. 

“Happy birthday to me,” she muttered into the wind. 

Tomorrow she would spend some time with Pepper and Happy. They had lunch plans at a little spot up the coast. Later, she would visit Rhodey just outside the base he was stationed at. Tomorrow night she would be back on a plane. 

She wouldn’t open the beautifully wrapped presents that were set on the coffee table. No doubt Pepper’s hand was responsible for their purchase, though the tags all read ‘Love, Dad’.

Maybe Tony would see them when he got back from whatever kind of bender he was on.

Maybe then he would remember.

###

_ Day 5480 _

Shockingly cold water brought Tony to full consciousness abruptly.

Droplets of chilly liquid fell from strands of his soaked hair and onto his bare chest as he sputtered and tried to regain his breath. Wide eyes instantly locked onto a glowering Rhodey who stood with arms crossed beside the bed. 

“What the fuck?”

Rhodey said nothing for a long moment. Through gritted teeth he finally asked, “Do you know what day it is?”

In fact, Tony did not. Usually JARVIS would help in situations like this by displaying the date and time discreetly on the nearest screen. All the screens in view remained blank.

“Uhhh… Tuesday?”

Rhodey’s face went even stormier. “Try again.”

“Thursday?”

Throwing up both hands Rhodey paced away before abruptly spinning on his heel and stomping right up into Tony’s still dripping face. “Today is the sixteenth anniversary of you calling me to tell me that you were a father.”

_ Click.  _

_ Click.  _

_ Click. _

The cogs in his brain were moving slower than normal. It took far too long for him to put together the significance of that statement. “No,” he drew the word out. “No, that’s not right. That can’t be right. Because that would mean…”

Adrenaline surged as his stomach dropped.

Eyes wide, he looked up at Rhodey pleadingly, willing the man to tell him it wasn’t true.

There was no sympathy on the other man’s face. Only anger, and guilt, and frustration. “She was here. All alone. Waiting for you to come home. She didn’t tell any of us that you hadn’t answered her calls. That you hadn’t even picked up the phone to tell her where you were. She spent time with each of us, smiled the whole time. Never once did she act like anything was wrong.” He drew in a deep breath and took a step back. “She’s a far better actor than you,” he added sadly.

“She’s always been better than me,” Tony agreed. 

That made Rhodey’s expression twist into something that directly and proportionately twisted Tony’s insides. “I- You- … God!” Both hands covered his face for a moment. When he dropped them a look of determination filled his features. “You need help Tony. You need to get this,” he waved a hand through the air encompassing the whole room, “under control. You can not be absent while Darcy grows up. You can not ignore her or look her out. Keep doing this and you will lose her Tony. She will walk away and never look back.”

He knew what Rhodey said was true. 

Darcy was so strong in so many ways, but she was still a child. She needed her father. 

Speech apparently over, Rhodey held out a hand to help Tony out of his soaking sheets and then into the bathroom for a shower. He said nothing more about it, offered no advise. That was what Tony loved about Rhodey. He was a friend who took Tony exactly as he was. He was the brakes on a runaway train. He wouldn’t try to direct the conductor, or change the track, but he would try like hell to slow the momentum before the crash.

Tony knew he had to apologize, to grovel and beg for forgiveness. He also knew that Darcy wouldn’t be quick to grant it. She had been hurt and she deserved better.

He would do everything he could to give her better.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I'm having all sorts of feelings about Endgame. For those who have seen it you'll understand why I had to bring a little reconciliation for them :)
> 
> Don't worry there are no spoilers involved.

_ Day 6473 _

The lights of the workshop flipped on as Tony entered. He had a cup of coffee in one hand and the specs for a new project in the other. As often as he was cleaning up messes from SI R&D sometimes they did have good ideas. He was eager to get a prototype started on this little beauty.

He had just settled in when an empty space in this periphery caught his attention.

Turning his head, he looked along his line of cars. It took a moment to recognize that the empty space was where his Porsche Carrera GT should have been sitting.

“JARVIS? Where is the Carrera?” 

There was a pause that Tony had learned to interpret as trouble. Trouble being synonymous with Darcy.

“I believe the young Miss has decided to take a jaunt up the coast.”

It wasn’t that Darcy couldn’t drive. She actually was quite adept. The problem was that she was not supposed to be using his cars. She had her own. She had three of her own. They weren’t as flashy as Tony’s, but they were more than comfortable.

And all this was on top of the fact that she had access to Happy and several others for chauffeur services. 

Instead, she took his car. For spite. 

For all the closeness they had once shared, their relationship was currently strained. It was his fault. Of that there was no doubt. He had let himself be tempted, had fallen back into old habits. Obi said it was part of the lifestyle, and perhaps in Obi’s prime that was the way of things. Even now he rarely saw the older man without a cigar or two fingers of bourbon.

But Obi was a man without ties. No wife. No children. He was a product of his generation and he had been whispering in Tony’s ear advice that no longer applied. 

Tony could see the truth now.

Far too late to prevent the damage. 

“JARVIS, call Darcy.”

There was no response but the ringing of the line.

“What’s up, Tony?” 

That was another thing that had changed. Darcy never called him Dad. Not anymore. Not that she had been able to use the title often before. Still it stung everytime.

“Darcy Maria Stark. What do you think you’re doing?”

There was a snort of disbelief and an eyeroll (even if he couldn’t see it). “Yeah, the full name thing isn’t as intimidating as you think it is.”

“That is completely beside the point! Why did you take my car?”

“Because it’s faster.”

It was his turn to scoff. “Than your Maserati?”

“Eh.”

“Darcy, bring it back. Now.”

There was laughter then. Insolent and reckless. Tony knew the tone. He’d heard it in himself enough times. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

“You are my daughter and-”

“I’m 18!”

“Not for 3 more months!”

“Whatever. What are you going to do about it? Ground me?”

That had him spluttering. “I might!”

“Please. The only thing you could do would be to report the car stolen. But you won’t do that. Cause I’ll just tell them I’m your daughter and then the press will get wind of it and where will you be. All those years of hiding me for nothing.”

Tony couldn’t find a single word to respond with. There was too much to unpack there. Even emotionally stunted as he was, he could tell there were layers and layers of hurt. A hundred things she wasn’t giving voice to.

His silence apparently went on too long, as the connection broke when she hung up on him.

Hours later, he was pacing in the living room, waiting for her.

He’d had a shot for courage about an hour ago, but he wasn’t going to touch another drop until they had a conversation. A real conversation. One he probably should have had years ago. 

She was too smart, just as he’d been. Determined to keep childhood as close to normal as possible, he’d forgotten that she shouldn’t be lumped in with her peers. She was exceptional. More than. 

Darcy deserved to be spoken to and treated like an adult, even when she was acting childish.

The squealing of tires heralded her arrival.

She came through the door like a whirlwind. Her arms laden with bags proclaiming that she’d been shopping. Her phone was balanced between her ear and her shoulder as she chatted with someone. The chatter cut off as she spotted him.

“I’m gonna have to call you back,” she told whoever was on the other end of the line.

At first he thought that meant she was going to come over to him willingly. Instead, she dropped the bags, stuck the phone back in her purse, and then headed off to the kitchen. Her nose in the air the whole time as if he was beneath her notice. 

Stubborn and glorious, like a queen. 

Shaking his head fondly, he followed after her.

She was already at the coffee machine as he entered. He wasn’t sure when she’d picked up the habit but at some point an espresso machine that could have doubled as some part for the next Mars rover had appeared in the kitchen.

He waited until she was finished concocting, partly because he didn’t want to talk over the noise, partly because he wasn’t sure how to start.

“Do you want people to know,” he finally blurted when the silence stretched too long.

Darcy looked at him over the rim of her coffee cup. “Is this a trick question?”

His brow scrunched. “No.”

Her gaze was steady, drilling into him as if she could see beneath his skin. It made him a little uncomfortable, but he didn’t back down. “Yes,” she answered shortly, still holding the mug in front of her like a shield. 

He nodded decisively. “Okay. Okay. I’ll, I mean, Pepper will get together with PR. We’ll draft something up. Happy will beef up your security. Obi will handle the board. We can throw a party here. Invite your friends. Have it be a coming out party, like the debutante things my mother was always on about.” Tony wasn’t completely unobservant. He saw the way her knuckles went white from clenching her coffee cup, the slight tremble in her hand. “Are you all right?”

There was a quiver in her voice, a timidness and hesitation he wasn’t used to hearing. “Are you serious?”

Coming around the counter, he took the mug from her hands before wrapping his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest like she used to when she had been much smaller. “Darcy-girl, of course. Of course, I’m serious. I never meant for you to be secret forever. I was only trying to protect you, little terror. But if you’re ready for the world then the world will have to be ready for you.” There was sniffle which only made him tighten his hug and kiss the top of her head.

When she finally pulled away, her mascara was smudged and her eyes were wet but her smile was bright. 

He took her face in his hands and used his thumbs to wipe away the evidence of her tears. All the while his little girl smiled up at him in a way he had sorely missed.

More composed, she moved away to retrieve her cup. This time the distance between them didn’t seem as cold. It felt more like the first blooming of spring.

“JARVIS, let’s get the ball rolling. We’ll start with security. Get me the files for our current personnel.

“Hang on, Dad.”

Tony couldn’t help the pavlovian way his head snapped to her at the last word. 

Her smile was smaller, but not dimmer. “I think maybe we can hold off a little longer. How about making it my 21st birthday present? That way I can work on my next degree without having to battle paps.”

“Anything you want, kid,” he quickly agreed.

This didn’t fix everything. Tony knew himself well enough to know that the siren song of his fame would call to him again, and undoubtedly he’d do something to disappoint her. For now it was enough that they’d lanced the wound before the infection spread. 

He asked about her day, listening attentively as she described the movie she’d seen and the stores she’d visited. 

It wasn’t until several minutes later that something filtered through his brain.

“Wait,” he said, cutting off something about her newest pair of shoes. “What do you mean  _ next _ degree?”

Darcy’s laughter, even at his expense, sounded beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments make my days a little brighter :)


	7. Chapter 7

_ Day 7482 _

Darcy had been waiting for the call. Since Tony was going to be flying back through her current timezone after his presentation, he’d promised to call to set up a visit.

She was spending a year abroad. It was supposed to be for international business credit. It was really more a vacation than anything. Still it was fun and good experience. A little time to see the world and enjoy the house Tony had gifted her with when she’d completed her second PhD, before she revealed her existence. The countdown for which was already on. 

She had been waiting for the call, which is why she didn’t check the caller ID before picking up. She flopped across the lounger on her little balcony overlooking the Aegean Sea, already smiling, expecting an embellished tale of his charm from her father. “So how’d it go? Were they blown away? Was General Squirrelly Moustache there?”

“Darcy.”

Every muscle she had froze for a single second. Instinct or intuition had her sitting up, bracing for a hit. It wasn’t simply because the voice on the other end wasn’t Tony. It was the regret, the fear, the guilt. 

“Rhodey?”

“Tony’s been taken.”

The phone slipped from her nerveless fingers.

###

_ Day Unknown _

The first thing he knew was pain.

His chest felt split open.

His chest  _ was _ split open.

His fingers scrambled for the wound.

To stop it. To fix it. To deny it.

Hands held his down.

A voice telling him to be calm.

Then darkness came again.

###

_ Day 7572 _

“We’ve got him.”

The words seemed to echo inside her head before settling on her heart.

“Darcy? Did you hear me? We’ve got him. He’s safe.”

She couldn’t help the way her breath caught in her throat, or the sob that clawed its way out.

Trying to find her voice, she choked out some garbled mess. 

Rhodey, bless him, understood. 

“He’s dehydrated, sunburnt, but overall he’s okay. He’s okay, Darcy. I swear. He’ll need to stay here a few days, but I’ll keep you updated.”

Swallowing down the tears, she managed to take a full breath. “I’ll have them prep the jet. I’ll be there in a few hours.”

“No.” It was said gently, but it still cut. “No. He doesn’t want you out here.” Before that blow had a chance to land, Rhodey continued. “He wants to keep you safe. I know you want to be here, but please Darcy. Please just let him have this one.”

In the end, she could do nothing but agree. 

###

_ Day 7578 _

Tony refused the wheelchair. He wasn’t going to let Darcy see him like that.

He knew she was in the car. Kept out of sight, but not out of mind. 

It was thoughts of her that had gotten him through. Thoughts of her that had kept him going, kept him fighting. Up until he had seen the weapons, his weapons, stockpiled in that valley.

Then his motivations had been revenge and guilt.

Still Darcy never left his mind completely. 

He was thinking of her when Yinsen asked if he had a family. He was thinking of her when the other man had said he was going to finally see his family in death.

Tony never wanted to have to face what Yinsen had. He couldn’t imagine his life if Darcy died before him. It wouldn’t be a life at all.

There were tears in Pepper’s eyes when he got to her. He didn’t hug her. He couldn’t, not right now, but had a desire to. And that was something he’d have to think about…

Happy held the car door open. 

Tony didn’t hesitate. Before the door even closed after Rhodey, Darcy was already in his arms. She was clutching him tight. Her whole body shaking with her tears. Tony could only hold on, ride out the storm with her. “I missed you, Darcy-girl. Missed you so much. I’m so sorry.”

The others were quietly talking, letting father and daughter have as much privacy as they could.

It took a few minutes for him to register that Darcy was whispering something into his neck. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

“I love you, Darcy,” he assured her as he gave an extra squeeze with his one good arm. The sling around the the other one was impeding his movement, and there were various other aches and pains, but he didn’t care. He needed to hold his daughter.

The car began moving, and it wasn’t until they were on the highway headed away from the base, that Darcy finally drew back.

She wiped away the tears with her hands and then rubbed them on her leggings. Pepper held out a box of tissues and Darcy conceded by taking one. 

“Where to boss,” Happy asked.

He wanted to go home. He wanted to hold his daughter until he could pretend that the last three months had just been some vivid hallucination. He held out his hand and Darcy grabbed at it like her grip alone could prevent him from disappearing again. “Ready to shake up the world, little terror?” 

Once more, she proved she was better than him. Though her red-rimmed eyes were filled with fear she nodded. “Yeah, Dad. Let’s rock.”

If his laugh was a little watery no one commented. 

“There are two things I want: an American cheeseburger and..”

“We’re going to the hospital,” Pepper informed him sternly.

“No. No, you are going to call a press conference. But cheeseburger first.”

Pepper attempted to argue, but this time Darcy stood fiercely as his protector. She didn’t budge an inch and soon they were rolling through a Burger King drive-through.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you all know... this was supposed to be a quick little 10k story idea that I wanted to get off my mind... What have I started?

_ Day 7578 Part 2... _

It was a wonderful thing having unlimited funds at your disposal. Darcy had always known she was blessed in financially though she had never really gone full on heiress. There were no Paris Hilton moments hiding in her past. 

In fact, she was much more likely to be remembered for when she accidentally had the American military forces in California in a panic because she hacked in trying to find out where Uncle Rhodey was. Well, that was if anyone had known it was her. And she had only been caught that once. Every time after had gone much more smoothly.

The point was… 

The luxury ride she was in came equipped with a TV. Which meant she was watching the live broadcast when her father announced that he was shutting down weapons production.

Her wealth also meant that her phone, which seemed like an average model on the outside, had been upgraded with prejudice. 

“Okay, MOLLY. Time to go to work.”

There was no answer out-loud but Darcy hadn’t really been expecting one.

###

_ Day 7581 _

There was an itch under his skin. His fingers tapped out a rhythm on arc reactor on his chest. Tony wriggled slightly on the cushion he was on, trying to get comfortable.

From his right came an exasperated sigh. 

He stilled, re-focusing on the movie on the screen.

He lasted a whole three minutes before the tapping began again.

“Dad.”

“Yes, cupcake?”

Darcy had been almost glued to his side for the last three days, and he was more than happy to give her whatever comfort she needed. He had been taking the same from her. The first night, she had even come and curled up in his bed like she had when she was a toddler after a nightmare. Her steady breathing had lulled him into a truly restful sleep for the first time since he had left that cave.

Still he wasn’t quite ready to let her know all the details of his new direction. She had seen the arc reactor, but she hadn’t asked. She was always far too good for him.

Her expressive green eyes were looking at him consideringly now. “Go do whatever you need to do before you explode.”

He was rising to his feet at the first word, but stopped to really look at her trying to gauge if she was okay.

“I’m fine,” she answered his unasked question with a fond smile. “Go on. Go be a genius. I’ll be here.”

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Tony thanked her. Then he was hurrying down the stairs and into his workshop.

“Okay, J. Let’s get this party started.”

###

_ Day 7601 _

Something wasn’t adding up.

And she wasn’t just talking about the holes in SI security.

“MOLLY, I think it’s about time I got more invested in the family business. What do you think?”

A song bite from Mulan blasted into Darcy’s headphones.  _ “Let’s get down to business. _ ”

“You got it, girl.”

Her smile was fierce as her fingers lit the keyboard on fire. 

###

_ Day 7657 _

“Soooo… I guess this means my coming out party is on hold?”

Tony froze, hands buried in the Mach II’s chest.  _ Shit _ . Pulling back, he tried to get a gauge on Darcy’s feelings, but as usual she was proving better than him. Her blank face was far superior than his.

“Uhh…”

She strolled over, through the broken glass and over the scorch marks on the floor. With a single finger she poked at the plating. 

“I can explain,” he began, but trailed off when she turned to him with an expectantly raised brow. “Okay you completely learned that face from Pepper. You’re not allowed to hang out with her anymore.”

Rolling her eyes, Darcy picked up one of the circuit boards he had been planning to install. 

Wiping a hand on his jeans, Tony struggled to find the words to make her understand. Things were different now. He had been blind most of his life. Now that his eyes were opened, he had fix what he had helped break. 

“I can explain… And to be honest, you’ve caught me doing way worse things.”

The huff of breath through her nose sounded like amusement. Turning the circuit board over one last time, she replaced it on the table and met his gaze. “When were you going to tell me?”

“I, uh, I actually did not have a plan beyond…” he waved a hand around to encompass the pieces of the suit.

Darcy drew in a deep breath, then through her shoulders back and nodded sharply.

“Right. So where are we?”

“We?”

Her smirk was reckless and determined. “Oh, yeah. If I can’t be Darcy Stark in public then I’m at least going to be the girl behind the flying suit.”

His brow crunched. “How do you know it flys?”

Fingers dancing over the repulsor mock-up that was still floating in the air, she laughed. “Lucky guess.”

“Yeah… I don’t think so. But we can discuss that later.”

“Sure Dad.”

“Don’t give me that tone. We are definitely going to discuss it later.”

“Okay.”

“I mean it, Darcy.”

Her laughter echoed off the walls.

###

_ Day 7665 _

“Happy birthday, Darcy-girl!”

The cake was three-tiered and much more than the small gathering of people could possibly eat. However, her father had absolutely no idea of proportions. Still it was the thought that counted.

After a truly horrendous rendition of the birthday song, Darcy blew out all twenty-one candles and cut into the cake. The first cut revealed the funfetti inside making her laugh.

“Now that you’re twenty-one, I have the great privilege of introducing you to the fine world of alcohol,” Tony announced grandly.

“Oh, please do tell me all about this magical elixir of which I have never partaken before.”

Rhodey snorted into his drink.

Pepper gave her a very dignified high-five.

###

_ Day 7750 _

“There is only this! Only the next mission.” He was breathing hard, heart beating fast.  _ Why didn’t she understand? _

Pepper’s look was cool enough to freeze his coffee. 

When she finally spoke, her voice was low in volume but not in intensity. “The only thing. I see. And where exactly does that put Darcy, Mr. Stark?”

His heart dropped to his toes.

_ Idiot. _

Darcy had left a week ago. She had some school project she was working on. He was pretty sure it wasn’t another thesis. The first one had been a big enough surprise. He hadn’t even realized she had an interest in electrochemistry.

“Pepper, please. I need you to do this for me. I have to make it right.”

They stared at each other for a long moment, before she stepped forward and scooped up the flashdrive.

“If I do this, you have to talk to Darcy. About Gulmira. About everything.”

“Okay.”

“Promise Tony. Swear right now or I’m not doing a thing.”

“I promise Pepper.”

Another silence followed as she tried to detect his sincerity by looking in his eyes. He could have told her that was a waste of time. He had gotten much better at lying since waking with a hole in his chest.

###

_ Day 7750 _

The timing on this little sleight of hand was going to have to be perfect. 

The government stiff in the suit couldn’t know who she was. Or even that she had been there. That would only open up more questions. He was waiting in the lobby for Pepper, who was on her way from the house.

Darcy had long ago made herself an all-access card for SI. Just in case.

When she started to suspect Stane was behind all the weird stuff she found buried in the servers, Darcy had gone on her own fact-finding mission.

Finding the ransom video had her stomach churning, but Starks were made of strong stuff. She refused to break down here in enemy territory.

Unfortunately, Stane spotted her leaving Tony’s office.

He didn’t say anything, but she had felt the weight of his gaze.

Darcy quickened her step. 

There was Pepper coming in the door.

The stiff was rising to his feet, calling Pepper’s attention.

Stane was looking down from the top of the stairs.

Darcy rushed forward, purposefully bumping into Pepper’s shoulder. Hard. Her small stack of folders went flying. Pepper’s eyes widened in recognition but she shut down the expression in a flash.

Mumbling apologies and keeping her back to the stiff, Darcy pressed the drive into Pepper’s palm.

“It’s Stane,” she whispered when she was certain the stiff was distracted with helping to gather the papers. “Run.”


End file.
